


how to get a date with lee minho

by swimnakedinthestream



Series: we're still growing [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Because I can, JYP stands for JY Pizza because I can, M/M, Mentions of Day 6, a romcom because yes, also also also seungjin is soft, bang chan can save the world, but the other ships will have their own side stories, every other ship has moments, hwang hyunjin is the most precious boy, jeongin is a freshman and is having a hard time making friends, jisung just wants to get a date, minho is a hot TA confirmed, minsung is the main ship, no one wants to give jisung a break, seungmin and felix are best friends, soft for stray kids, there is a bit of angst with jeongin but dont worry imma protect the lil maknae, yugyeom makes an appearance ur welcome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-05-28 20:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15057311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swimnakedinthestream/pseuds/swimnakedinthestream
Summary: All Jisung wanted was a date with the most beautiful boy at his university....Too bad the universe doesn't want him to catch a break.Han Jisung is in love. But in order to get a day with the boy of his dreams (re: physics major Lee Minho) he must complete a series of tasks for people all around campus. Apparently no one does favors out of the bottoms of their hearts anymore.





	1. step one: ask him out

_step one: ask him out_

 

_..._

 

**Jisung** wakes up at 8:47 am, late for his Advanced Physics 304 class with dried up drool on the right half of his face and the beginnings of a sore throat. Popcorn kernels and barbecue chip crumbs liter his floor, leftovers from an impromptu movie night with Bang Chan the night before. By the time Jisung has thrown together his cleanest pair of jeans, his softest t-shirt and slipped on his trusty bad-hair-day beanie, it is already 9:04 and five old popcorn kernels are digging into the soles of his feet.

 

Were it any other day or any other class, Jisung would perhaps relinquish any hope of getting to class on time and forego putting on deodorant in favor of slipping back into bed and sleeping for the next couple of hours.

 

Today, however, is what Jisung classifies as a Very Important Day.

 

Breakfast, at this point, isn’t even an option, Jisung contemplates. Even if it was, his options are limited to a hastily made protein shake or a slightly stale pop-tart that was left on the counter a couple of mornings ago. Too many failed alarm clocks and over used snooze buttons have polished Jisung’s ability to brush his teeth, throw on a jacket and put on his shoes simultaneously.

 

As Jisung runs out of his room, his backpack barely slung around his shoulder and pristine physics homework in hand, he calculates that if he runs 2.73x faster than he usually does, he can make it all the way to his classroom and settle into an unclaimed seat just in time for the most beautiful boy in the world to call his name for attendance.

 

Before beginning his run, Jisung takes a moment to take in his surroundings. There is almost no one around -- most students aren’t dumb enough to schedule 9:00 AM classes and if they are, they are probably already there because holy shit it's already 9: 10 -- and the sky is full of angry gray clouds that look like they are about to break any second.

 

Jisung smiles and takes off, just as the first few droplets hit his head.

 

Today is the perfect day to ask out Lee Minho.

 

…

 

Jisung arrives at his class drenched in rain water and his aforementioned pristine physics homework looks like it has been dropped in a puddle, which Jisung may or may not have done on his way to class. At this point, there is no merit in sneaking into the classroom discreetly so Jisung strides in boldly and confidently -- the only way he’s ever known -- ignoring the giggles and snide comments coming from his classmates.

 

In all his squeaky-sneaker and leaving-a-trail-of-water-behind-him glory, Jisung places his equally drenched homework on Lee Minho’s desk at the front of the room and makes a beeline for one of the open seats at the back of the room.. As embarrassing as this may seem to his classmates Jisung thinks, the amused look on Minho’s face when they make eye contact is more than enough to make getting his ass out of bed that morning worth it.

 

...

 

For all the whirlwind that was Jisung’s struggle to get to class, the class itself passes by extremely slowly. Whilst normally the perfect student, Jisung cannot find it in himself to pay attention to the 90 year old man at the front of the room going off on tangents about his ex-wife when trying to explain physics to a bunch of 20 year olds. He resorts instead to tapping along to the beat of the rain hitting the roof with the tip of his pen. After receiving a glare from the girl sitting on his right, he turns his attention to one of the blank pages of his notebook and passes the time writing new lyrics for 3racha’s next mixtape.

 

Truth be told, Jisung, as a music production major, didn’t even need to take an advanced physics course. In fact, Jisung had gotten his general education science requirement out of the way his freshman year in Astronomy 101. However, when Jisung’s infatuation with Lee Minho spontaneously erupted at the end of last semester,

  
          (“I think I like Minho hyung.”

  
           “Jisung, we already know.” )

  
he had been compelled to weasel his way into the advanced physics course that would have the good fortune of having Minho for a TA. And while Jisung may not personally care about electrodynamics and batteries, he had spent hours upon hours studying, reading textbook pages, and rewriting practice problems all for the sakes of impressing the boy of his dreams.

 

Its Wednesday today, which means that his professor will end class 30 minutes early so that he can make it to the discount lunch prices at the cafeteria. Sure enough, less then 40 minutes after Jisung arrives, their professor begins writing their homework assignment (a whole 42 problems what the actual fuck) on the board and walks out of the room, reminding the class to see Minho with any questions before coming to his office hours. His classmates evacuate the room in a matter of seconds after the class is dismissed, leaving Jisung alone with Lee Minho who remains oblivious to Jisung’s staring and continues packing up the remainder of his belongings and sorting the pile of assignments he’s to grade before their next session.

 

Almost as if it’s a sign, the sun begins to filter in through the windows, highlighting the right side of Minho’s face just as Jisung begins to approach the boy in question. Jisung’s mind is torn between hyping himself up and waxing poetry about Minho’s long freaking eyelashes that he can practically see from his spot halfway across the room.

 

        _Fuck why is he so beautiful?_

  
_You got this Han, you’re amazing and so is he -- it makes sense for you two to be together._

  
_Do you think he’s ever gotten eyelash extensions? Probably not. I think he’s just that good._

  
_He’s gonna say yes I can feel it. Today’s the day._

  
_F u c k._

 

And just like that, Jisung finds himself standing in front of one Lee Minho, who is smiling straight at him. Jisung barely registers Minho’s (gorgeous) lips moving, caught up in fantasizing about how wonderful a summer wedding would be and contemplating which sounds better: Lee Jisung or Han Minho. Jisung is spurred into action when Minho’s expression begins to turn from amused to confused.

 

“Ahh, sorry Minho-hyung I just totally missed what you said” Jisung says, raising a hand to adjust the beanie atop his head.

  
The amused gleam in Minho’s eyes returns and Jisung’s heart nearly stops.

  
“I said, Hey Jisungie. What’s up?” Minho says, with a light chuckle.

  
“Oh uh, it’s going good ya know. I definitely think I aced the last exam in here.” Jisung says, hoping Minho won’t notice the blush that is working its way up his neck and to the tips of his ears.

Jisung almost hates that Lee Minho can elicit such reactions out of him, especially when Jisung has always been confident and self assured, even when pursuing other potential lovers. But Minho has always been different anyways. He lets out a sharp laugh, eyes crinkling into half moons and throws his head back, soft hair rearranging itself across his forehead. While Jisung isn’t dramatic enough to say that he’s in love with Minho, he thinks he could be pretty damn close.

  
“Right. I mean I guess you are amongst one of the best in the class. You may be able to get a 70 with the curve this time around.” Minho smiles, slinging his bag over his shoulder. What Jisung wouldn’t do to be a dark gray Jansport filled to the brim with barely completed physics assignments and heavy textbooks in this exact moment.

  
“Yeah, hopefully uhhh” Jisung trails off, not quite sure knowing how to best proceed with asking Minho out on date and possibly get some input as to where he thinks they should host their destination wedding.

 

Like any sane person, Jisung had practiced multiple different pick up lines and considered multiple different scenarios in preparation for this Very Important Day:

  
          Exhibit A. In front of the mirror:

  
                    “Why, thank you so much for complimenting my pupils Minho-hyung. And I too, would really like to kiss you but I’m a gentleman so let’s go out for tacos later hmmm?”  
                                          _Note to self: practice eyebrow wiggle, impress Minho_

  
            Exhibit B. Practice with Changbinnie hyung:

  
                    “Minho hyung, do you like horror movies?”

  
                    “Uhh, I’m not sure how to respond. Does Minho even like horror movies?”

  
                    “Jesus, Binnie. Of course he does but he can’t know that I know that he does, that’ll make me look desperate.”

  
                    “Then what do you want me to--”

  
                    “Just say ‘yes’!”

  
                    “I don’t need this you know. I could be out with Felix right now.”

  
                    “Anyways. Minho-oppa --”

  
                    “Ew, seriously?”

  
                    “MINHO OPPA do you like horror movies?”

  
                    “Yes.”

  
                    “We should go see that new one that just came out. I can protect you if anything too scary happens~~”

  
                    “Get your arm off of me or I’ll tear it out of it’s socket.”

  
                    “But do you think it’ll work?”

  
                    “Yeah it’s pretty good man.”

  
                    “Nice.”

  
          Exhibit C. Brainstorming with Channie hyung

  
                    “But there’s no guarantee that he’ll catch you before you hit the bottom of the stairs.”

  
                    “Sometimes you just gotta sacrifice for love.”

  
                    “Yeah, but then people will see me pushing you down the stairs and I only just got elected sooo--”

  
                    “Nope, not if you wear the skii mask remember?”

  
                    “I don’t know. I still think it’s better if you go with the other thing, you know with the pool?”

  
                    “But what if Minho can’t swim? Then I’ll just drown.”

  
                    “Ahhh, but sometimes you just gotta sacrifice for love ya know?”

  
But standing here in front of Minho, Jisung is blanking out on the weeks of practice. It’s the perfect day to ask Lee Minho out on a date and they are alone in the classroom that brought them even closer together (who knew Physics could even _be_ romantic) and Jisung can’t think of anything else to say.

 

“Jisungie, I’m really sorry,” Minho says, glancing at his watch (and seriously what kind of college student wears watches for more than aesthetic purposes, as if Minho couldn’t get any more perfect it’s unfair), “I need to get going. It was nice talking to you thou---”

 

It’s now or never, Jisung thinks. If Minho leaves the room before he can ask him out, there is no guarantee that there will be another Perfect Day and Perfect Time to ask Minho out, so they won’t be able to fall in love and the lives of their future kids will be ruined forever. Jisung can’t have that kind of guilt on his shoulders so he blurts out exactly what he’s thinking, no lead up, no clever flirting -- just him and Lee Minho.

 

“Please go out with me.”

 

...

 

Jisung remembers the day as if it was yesterday. The day he met Lee Minho was possibly the worst day Jisung has ever lived through in his life.

 

It was the last day of his first year of University. His alarm clock failed to wake him up in time for his final exam, so by the time he arrived at his testing site he only had 30 minutes left to do as much of a test that took most students the full 2 and a half hours to complete as he could. Following his exam, Jisung had received an email from another professor claiming that he didn’t submit the final paper in time (which he totally did what the f u c k) so he had to rush to his office hours with the full receipts because he was NOT taking a failing grade for a paper he spent over 30 hours of his life on.

  
The whole day had gotten progressively worse as it went along. Clear skies turned dark grey and by the time Jisung had made it from the academic building to the cover of the cafeteria, all of his clothes were soaked through.

 

Still, fighting with crotchety old professors and the horrid weather and his life just being a general mess were the least of Jisung’s problem. Throughout the day, the thought of going home for the summer -- home to parents that, no matter how much they loved him, still disapproved of his choice of major and were constantly comparing him to his cousins in medical school -- and leaving his friends (Bang Chan and Seo Changbin) behind weighed down on his mind. Maybe it was that he didn’t want to finish packing up his things or maybe it was that he just needed to take a moment to himself that lead him to a solitary bench on the edge of the university’s main courtyard.

 

There’s almost no one around, it being that last day of the semester and all. With every day that passed by that week it had seemed that Jisung became more and more isolated. Changbin had left for home two days ago, with promises of visiting Jisung over the summer and day trips to Lotte World. Chan was leaving the same day, but had enough things to wrap up that made meeting up with Jisung before they both left almost unreasonably difficult. So Jisung sat, leaned forward and resting his elbows on his knees while he tucked his face into his hands.

 

It’s almost impossible for Jisung to tell how long he stayed like that, but he guesses that it had been a good while. The squeaking of the bench he’s on alerts him to the addition of another person’s weight next to him. Jisung had thought it weird that although there were multiple empty benches in the surrounding area, this random person chose to sit beside him. The thought of possibly being murdered crossed Jisung’s mind and had been the ultimate deciding factor in bringing Jisung out of his position and fully turning to face the person at his side.

 

It had been a boy. A really pretty boy, Jisung remembers thinking, with dark hair and kind eyes. The boy had seemed familiar, a fact which Jisung had attributed to having seen the boy around campus perhaps once or twice before. The boy looked at Jisung and Jisung looked back at him trying to focus on the words coming out of his mouth.

 

“Hey. Do you think that bananas kind of look like giraffes?”

 

Yes, Jisung had responded, and finding that the dark haired boy had a valid point. Bananas do kind of look like giraffes just like frogs are like the pocket squares of the animal world. His analysis made the other boy laugh and Jisung considered that he’s never heard a better sound than that.

 

They talked for 30 minutes, about ladybugs and strawberries and how caterpillars are kind of weird but how they are arguably the most charming little insects.

 

By the end of their conversation Jisung was no longer upset and felt strangely calm for having just had one of the most stressful days in his life. The stranger had smiled when Jisung is reminded of the mountain of clothes that needs to be packed. The boy (who Jisung later finds out is named Lee Minho by combing through the school’s Instagram page) had waved him off and wished him a safe trip home.

 

Jisung remembers walking away feeling lighter than he had felt all month with the resolution to find the boy he had just met the following year and treat him to a coffee as a token of his appreciation.

 

What happens after that, Jisung enrolling in a physics class he doesn’t even need and falling for the fascinating enigma that is Lee Minho is only natural.

 

…

 

  
Minho is looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face. Up until this point, Jisung would have been 97% confident that Minho liked him back in a more-than-friends type of way but his hesitation in responding to Jisung’s request has now filled him with a rush of panic.

 

A radiant smile blooms across Minho’s face and Jisung’s heart practically melts right then and there. This was definitely the perfect day to ask him out.

 

Minho raises a hand and places it gently on Jisung’s shoulder. Jisung is too busy focusing on the way Minho’s new hair cut frames his face and the cut of his jaw and how his eyelashes look even longer and even more delicate up close to register the words coming out of Minho’s mouth until the boy is halfway out of the door.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry Jisungie no can do. I’ll see you later though!”

 

Ahh Minho really is too beautiful when he smiles isn’t he.

 

Wait.

 

_What?_


	2. step two: get his coworker to take his shift

 

_step 2: get his coworker to take his shift_

 

...

 

woah.

Woah.

**_WOAH_**.

 

Jisung barely has time to process the fact that he’s just been rejected before he’s bolting out of the door to catch up with Minho. There was no way he could have failed. Today was THE day, the perfect day. There was no way that after months of chasing  the same boy, sharing lame physics puns over the class’s Kakao group chat, giving each other sly glances from opposite sides of the room and meaningful conversations about how the best pastries in the world come from the old coffee shop that sits innocently between a movie theater that only plays foreign films and a McDonald’s that he could have failed.

 

Plus, Jisung is pretty sure that he’s caught Minho checking him out at least _twice_ in the last month -- once when he accompanied Changbin to see his boyfriend Felix at practice for the University’s dance team's upcoming competition, and then again while he was helping Chan hand out cupcakes during his campaign for Student Activities Council President t and informational flyers about the voting process of their school), so to say that Minho isn’t even the slightest bit interested in Jisung would be objectively wrong.

 

At least…. That’s what Jisung hopes.

 

Minho isn’t hard to find, partially because Jisung has perfected the skill of picking out beautiful men in large crowds and also because the crowded hallways make it so that it’s almost impossible to travel anywhere with any modecom of speed. There are five people separating Jisung from Minho, two girls leaning into each other, sharing a phone as they gush over a cute youtube video and three other students who look as if they are heading to class. Jisung recognizes that panicked look anywhere and he sympathises with those students -- he really does -- but if fate is giving him another chance, then he wasn’t going to waste it.

 

Jisung takes a deep breath and charges forward, wincing slightly at the indigent cries and groans of protest from the students around him as he knocks into them. They would understand if they were in love, Jisung thinks, and reaches out a hand to grab onto the back of Minho’s backpack.

 

“Minho-ssi! Wait a sec!” Jisung exclaims to stop Minho from climbing up the stairs (re: Jisung’s worst enemy).

 

“Jisungie? Uhh, what’s up?” Jisung can tell that Minho, for all the nonchalant-ness that he had displayed when rejecting him (Jisung will be forever bitter about this, their future grandchildren will hear about this for decades to come he swears it), seams even more awkward than he did on the first day of class when he tried to introduce himself as the “cool TA that’s here to help you ace this course” and not just the asshole that’s going to spend the rest of the semester brutally slashing everyone’s homework to ribbons.

 

“I uhh--” The rational side of Jisung’s mind chooses this very moment to activate itself and reminds him not to make a scene by calling out Minho in the middle of a crowded hallway like a scene from one of Changbin’s romcoms. If Minho’s large and sparkling eyes have anything to do with calming Jisung down then so be it. Jisung will be the first person to claim how whipped he is for this  boy.

 

“I was just wondering, you know, why you said no I guess? I mean, not that I’m gonna force you to go out with me or anything cuz that would be weird right? I mean not as weird as Professor Kim’s obsession with the cafeteria’s chicken fingers am I right?” Oh god he’s rambling. Someone help him please.

 

Amused, Minho pulls Jisung to the side of the hallway so they are leaning against the wall instead of standing in the way of stressed out students and crotchety professors trying to get where they need to go.

 

“Listen, Jisungie” Minho begins in what Jisung is almost sure is the most beautiful exasperated tone in the world, “I like you. Like, a lot. Way more than I should, even.”

 

Jisung’s heart has definitely stopped beating. He should have written his will when he had the chance.

 

“I think you’re really cute and funny and just dorkey enough to laugh at my jokes but --”

 

“You think I’m cute? That’s so sweet!” Jisung says, smiling up at Minho who rolls his eyes fondly and reaches over to tuck a stray piece of hair from Jisung’s eyes. Jisung doesn’t miss the light blush that stains Minho’s high cheekbones.

 

“ _But_ between the dance team, my job, and this TA position, I don’t think I have time for a relationship right now. And if we ever became boyfriends,” a tingle goes down Jisung’s spine just at the thought of Lee Minho being his boyfriend, “I don’t think I would be able to take you out as often as I would want to, which wouldn’t be fair to you Sungie.”

 

Jisung is .5 seconds away from spontaneously combusting.

 

Minho likes him back which means that they could become the University’s most powerful couple and also that the movie nights and fast food dates with Minho that he’s spent the last five months dreaming about are all within reach.

 

“Minho-ssi, I-I really think it would be worth it. You don’t have to worry about not having enough time to do cool things with me for now, just having you beside me is enough. Just, give me a chance to show you. This Friday. I promise you won’t regret it.” Jisung says.

 

Minho smiles, small and soft and just for Jisung.

 

“Ok Sungie. I’ll make you a deal.” Minho says, a mischievous gleam returning to his eyes, “I’ll go on a date with you,” _Yes!_ Jisung does a mental fist pump. “if you can get my coworker to trade shifts with me-- my closing shift for his opening shift. That way I could take you out whenever you want.”

 

“Coworker? Who’s your coworker?”

 

“Hwang Hyunjin.”

 

“You work at JYP’s? I didn’t know that.” Jisung says, hoping that he doesn’t make it completely clear that he definitely already knew where Minho works.

 

“Mmmhmmm since last year.”

 

“Ok, yeah that sounds easy enough. All I ask is that you be ready for Friday night then.”

 

“I’m looking forward to it Seungie.” Minho says, giving Jisung one last smile before heading towards the stairs once again.

 

The sky has cleared and the sun is shining, making it feel as if it was never raining in the first place. Today definitely was the perfect day to ask out Minho, Jisung thinks as he starts to make his way to Jin Young’s Pizza.

 

…

 

If you get a job at JY’s Pizza, you’re automatically one of the hottest people in the school. Jisung doesn’t make the rules, that’s just how it is. If the owner of the restaurant was staffing his store with good looking employees as a business tactic, then it was definitely working seeing as the store was always  packed full of people.

 

So it makes since that Minho works there, as well as Hwang Hyunjin, who has ranked in the Top 5 Most Handsome Men at their University since he entered the school. Hyunjin is perhaps one of the most objectively beautiful people Jisung has ever met in his life, including himself. He’s tall and toned from years of dancing and swimming, dark haired, with The World’s Most Kissable Lips™ and kind eyes. If someone told Jisung that Hyunjin doubled as an ulzzang boy, he wouldn’t be surprised.

 

He and Hyunjin are in the same year, and Jisung would be lying if he said that he didn’t have a crush on the boy before he knew Lee Minho existed. If he was being really honest, Jisung would admit to spending the majority of his money on dining in at JYP’s his first semester of college.

 

The first thing Jisung sees as he walks through JYP’s doors is Hyunjin himself, standing behind the counter and looking impossibly gorgeous while refilling napkin dispensers. Jisung’s stomach growls at the smell of fresh pizza being baked in the oven behind Hyunjin, a reminder that Jisung had forgone breakfast that morning. He counts only seven people sitting throughout the store, seeing as it’s only 10: 45 in the morning. These people are smart. Once the lunch rush kicks in, their view of Hyunjin, who is undoubtedly the reason for bringing in people to eat pizza and garlic knots this early, will be obscured by groups of people coming in to bask in his glory as well. But, at the end of the day, none of them are sitting in the right place to see Hyunjin’s forearms when he takes pizzas out of the ovens which, Jisung will tell you, is the fifth table on the left side of the counter. Anyone who says they haven’t had a crush on Hwang Hyunjin at some point in their lives is a liar and Jisung is nothing of the sort.

 

About five seconds after Jisung walks in, Hyunjin’s head lifts from his task and he plasters on the most customer-servicey smile that Jisung has ever seen in his life. This boy, Jisung thinks, must make hella tips.

 

“Hello! Welcome to Jin Young’s Pizza! My name is Hyunjin, what can I get for you today?”

 

Jisung smiles. This might be easier than he thought.

 

“Hey man, uh, I’m actually not here to eat anything.” Especially, Jisung thinks, because he has all of $9.00 to his name at the moment and he doesn’t get paid until Friday morning.

 

Hyunjin’s eyes narrow and his smile immediately drops. Clearly Jisung has just dropped from his list of priorities, now that he has established himself as a non-paying customer.

 

“Oh.” Hyunjin says, conveying his disinterest in Jisung’s presence and goes back to his task.

 

“My name is Jisung and I actually need you to do me a pretty big favor.” Jisung says, hoping that begging on his knees (if it comes to that; Jisung really hopes it doesn’t) won’t get him banned from the store completely.

 

Hyunjin looks up at him through his bangs and Jisung sees his eyes drift to the tip jar sitting peacefully on the right end of the counter. The jar itself is already more than ¾ of the way full, and considering that JYP’s only opened half an hour ago, Jisung is very mildly impressed.

 

Hwang Hyunjin is one manipulative little bastard, Jisung thinks bitterly as he takes out his Doraemon wallet and pulls out a wrinkled $5.00 bill and makes a show of slipping it into Hyunjin’s jar.

 

Hyunjin looks up and smiles somewhat awkwardly at Jisung. “You uh, didn’t actually have to do that ya know?”

 

“It’s whatever man,” Jisung says. It definitely isn’t whatever man, but Jisung needs to keep Hyunjin on his good side if he ever wants to get his date with Minho. “Anyways, as I was saying I need---”

 

“Jisung right? I can’t really talk right now, but I get a break in like 45 minutes if you wanna meet me outside then.” Hyunjin says, nodding to the line of impatient customers that is beginning to form behind him.

 

As much as Jisung wants to get things done as quickly as possible, he is also in no position to create his own terms, much less have Hyunjin follow them. Jisung nods and makes his way to one of the outside tables and tries not to think about how hungry he is for the next 45 minutes.

 

…

 

Hyunjin makes his way outside a full 47 minutes later, and yes Jisung counted because he’s petty like that, holding four slices of pizza and two cans of coke. Jisung’s bitterness immediately melts away as Hyunjin sets half of his items in front of Jisung and gestures for him to start eating.

 

At this moment, all the rumors about Hyunjin being a heartless asshole that Jisung has ever heard become not only completely baseless but  the complete opposite from the truth.

 

“So, what’s this favor you need?” Hyunjin asks as he reaches over to open his drink.

 

Jisung swallows and before going in for another bite says “You know Lee Minho?”

 

Hyunjin nods as he chews on his crust. “Minho hyung? Yeah, we work together. Why?”

 

Jisung isn’t sure if he should tell Hyunjin the extent to which he knows Minho or about the power that Hyunjin holds in his hands at this very moment.

 

Apparently, Jisung takes too long to answer and Hyunjin’s eyes begin to narrow again looking at Jisung accusatorily. “You’re not like.. One of his stalkers or anything right? Because if you are, you owe me $1.50 for the drink.”

 

Jisung chokes on the pepperoni he’s slipped into his mouth and has to clear his throat a good three times before his voice is steady enough to talk again.

 

“What? No! I just --” love him, Jisung’s brain fills in, “Ok look. I really really really like Minho-hyung, I’ve liked him since last year.” Hyunjin’s eyes seem to be boring into his own, as if he was trying to decide if Jisung was telling the truth or not. “Today, I woke up and I don’t know, it just felt like it was the perfect day to ask him out and that he would say yes.”

 

Hyunjin has started eating again, which Jisung isn’t sure is a que to keep talking or to start running away. He chooses the former and stays firmly in his seat.

 

“But then after physics today, I asked him out and he said no. And I mean I did what any rational person would do when the boy of their dreams, Hyunjin, the boy of their _dreams_ , rejects them and I followed him out to the hallway.”

 

Jisung smiles, remembering the conversation he had with Minho earlier, recalling the high of Minho telling him that he liked him back. He tells Hyunjin everything, about the dumb physics jokes and the meticulous physics homework and the bananas that look like giraffes and hopes that the boy understands that his infatuation with Minho goes beyond his handsome face, that he’s not just like the customers that come in to JYP’s.

 

“So if you could just switch shifts with Minho-ssi, your opening shift for his night shift, it would literally mean the world to me and my future grandchildren.”

 

Hyunjin sits, quietly at first, until a large smile blooms across his face. “Bro,” he whispers, leaning his forearms on the metal table and leaning in closer to Jisung so he can hear what he’s about to say.

 

“You’re so whipped.”

 

Jisung thinks that he would probably be able to appreciate the sight that is Hwang Hyunjin laughing uncontrollably if it wasn’t at his expense.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” Hyunjin says as he clutches onto his stomach, trying to calm himself down. “It’s just that, the way that Minho hyung always talks about Jisung-from-Physics made you sound like this really cool dude and--- oh my god I’m sorry I didn’t mean that you aren’t cool or anything!”

 

Hwang Hyunjin is as much of a mess as he is, Jisung realizes, so he lets out a chuckle and lets the other boy know that everything is fine.

 

“So uhm, do you think that--” Jisung begins to ask again before he notices that Hyunjin has completely stopped whatever he was doing. Something seems to have caught his attention on the other side of the street and just as Jisung is about to turn his head to find out what it is, Hyunjin speaks up.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay? You’ll do it?”

 

Hyunjin nods, “Yeah, just, on one condition.”

 

“Okay yeah sure whatever you need man” Jisung is so close to getting himself a date with Minho he can practically taste the milk shake they’re going to share and can practically see the jealous onlookers as he Minho walk hand in hand in the moonlight.

 

Maybe it’s the increasingly warm temperature or maybe his eyes are playing tricks on him but Jisung thinks he sees a blush rise it’s way to Hyunjin’s face.

 

“I need an English tutor.” Hyunjin says adverting his eyes from whatever he was looking at.

 

“Well well well my friend, it looks like you’re in good luck. I studied in Malaysia when I was growing up so your boy Jisung can speak English really well. We could---”

 

“NO!”

 

Jisung immediately stops speaking at Hyunjin’s abrupt exclamation and tries not to feel too offended.

 

“I-I’m sorry, I just meant that there’s someone in particular that I want to have as a tutor..” Hyunjin says, and the suspected blush from earlier darkens to such an angry shade of red that makes it look as if Hyunjin is sunburned.

 

“Oh, well then, who is it?” Jisung questions. Really, the idea of Hwang Hyunjin having a crush on anyone on campus is almost unheard of. For one because Hyunjin wasn’t really known to date around anyways, but also because even if he was, Hyunjin could probably date any person he wanted. Although it appears as if Hyunjin is in a mild state of distress over his crush, Jisung would be lying if he said that he didn’t enjoy getting the inside scoop on this premium gossip.

 

Hyunjin shoots a pointed look across the street and jerks his chin towards the coffee shop down across from JYP’s but refuses to meet Jisung’s eyes. Jisung takes the hint and turns his head slowly as to not raise any alarm or raise the attention of the object of Hwang Hyunjin’s uwus.

 

The coffee shop, Liquid Bean, is small and relatively obscure, and is the same one that serves the world’s best pastries.

 

There’s a boy sitting outside with notebooks, a cup of coffee and a pastry bag set across  the table in front him. He’s typing away on a laptop and seems to be oblivious to the rest of the world as he taps his foot to music that is playing through a pair of white headphones. Jisung doesn’t even need to see the boy’s face to know who it is.

 

“Is that... Kim Seungmin?” Jisung questions, because damn if they ever got together they would be the most beautiful couple in the world, he’s sure of it.

 

“You know him?”

 

“Yeah, Seungminie and I go way back” Jisung says. Although his primary friend group consists of Channie hyung and Changbin, he can say without a doubt that Seungmin is one of the best friends he’s made while at college.

 

“Oh.” Hyunjin says, softly and absentmindedly.

 

Jisung turns back around to face Hyunjin who is now leaning his face into the palm of his hand and looking at Seungmin with the dreamiest expression on his face that Jisung is almost disgusted.

 

Suddenly, something clicks in Jisung’s head.

 

“Wait, Hyunjin” he says, noticing it takes the boy a moment to tear his eyes away from Seungmin and refocus on whatever Jisung is about to say. “Did you know Seungmin was going to be out here?”

 

“I uhmmm maybe but--”

 

“Oh wow that’s so funny because just a second ago, I was getting laughed at for being whipped when it’s very clear that it’s actually you.” Jisung is a petty bitch and he’s not afraid to admit it.

 

“Jisung---”

 

“Oh don’t worry honey. I think it’s really cute of you” Jisung says with an upbeat lilt to his voice and a small shrug of his shoulders.

 

“Oh my god Jisung shut up”

 

“Even if it is pretty creepy”

 

Hyunjin makes a face that Jisung would like to think is the human personification of asdfghjkl but he doesn’t retort or decline helping Jisung; he just sits there, blushing as he basks in the sunlight that is Kim Seungmin.

 

…

 

Jisung has read every advice column, WikiHow, and inspirational quote of the day calendar ever that has anything to do with getting your crush to notice you. He considers forwarding some of his favorites to Hyunjin later on but for now he supposes getting your crush to tutor you is a good enough start.

 

Jisung stands up and throws out both his and Hyunjin’s now empty paper plates and soda cans. Instead of going back to sit with Hyunjin, Jisung stands at the curb of the street, getting ready to head to the other side. He hears the scrape of Hyunjin’s chair against the sidewalk and and feels a tug from the back of his shirt.

 

“Wait Jisung-sii what are you doing!?”

 

Jisung can hear the mix of panic and uncertainty that is coating Hyunjin’s voice and he feels a new fondness emerge for the slightly older boy. Ahh to be young and in love.

 

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m getting you an english tutor. Now come on, let’s go.” Jisung says, and they cross the street together-- Jisung with a mission to accomplish and Hyunjin looking like he’s about to throw up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! i just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of yall who left really nice comments on the last chapter and to those of you who left me a kudos! i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well <3


	3. step three: find his coworker an english tutor

_step 3: find his coworker an english tutor_

 

…

 

Han Jisung considers himself to be an excellent judge of character. Years of being asked for answers to homework questions and still having to eat lunch by himself, of being shoved around in crowded hallways by the same people that would ask to be his lab partner, have honed Jisung’s skill to sense the bad intentions rolling off of people in waves. Jisung, as a rule, doesn’t concern himself with fake friends, doesn’t care for people that claim to be his friends but are all too comfortable making jokes at his expense behind his back or can’t even be bothered to remember that his favorite color is red.

 

Still, people tend to think that because Jisung is generally a loud and sociable person that he has a lot of friends. The truth is, while Jisung is definitely _friendly_ to most everyone he meets, he has only ever had a handful of very good friends at a single time. Jisung would happily take one or two best friends that would be willing to pay for his chicken nuggets and go roller skating with him at 2 am over a false sense of popularity any day.

 

When Jisung got to University, that didn’t change.

 

…

 

Jisung remembers first meeting Kim Seungmin three weeks into his freshman year of college.

 

Despite Jisung’s abilities in identifying the general douchebaggery of the people around him, it had taken him a whole two weeks -- three days after housing assignments had been finalized -- to realize that he couldn’t stand his freshman year roommates _at all_ and that they weren't all too fond of him in return. The three boys, Jisung recalls, had been (correction: _still are_ ) the perfect embodiments of the College Fuck Boy™ stereotype who only really talked to Jisung whenever they needed help hiding their extra beer cases under his bed. They never bothered to learn his first name which, Jisung thinks, would bother him if they had actually given more than two shits about him and his sleep schedule.

 

Jisung supposes that their parents are Very Influential People With Lots of Money because he’s convinced that that’s the only way they could have weaseled their way into the university’s honors housing in the first place. And considering Jisung never saw any of them so much as pick up a pen the entire time they lived together, he also supposes that their parents are the only reason his ex-roommates were still attending said University.

 

By the third week of continuous partying filled with obnoxious boys that thought that the louder they spoke could convey the size of their dicks to the girls they brought back to the dorm, Jisung had grabbed a soft throw blanket, his laptop, and the noise cancelling headphones he ordered online and was prepared to spend the night asleep on the common room’s lumpy couch.

 

Jisung hadn’t expected the room to be occupied for two reasons -- (1) the common room was never occupied, not even during the day and (2) it was Friday, so students were off getting drunk with their friends or had already left for the weekend. If he had known, perhaps he wouldn’t have slammed the door open and upon stubbing his toe on the door’s metal frame wouldn’t have yelled “I FUCKING HATE MY ROOMMATES!”, But then perhaps he wouldn’t have become friends with the pile of blankets sitting on the opposite side of the room named Kim Seungmin.

 

Kim Seungmin, in all his disheveled red hair and round spectacled glory, had looked up at him then and after taking in all of the objects Jisung had been carrying said, “Welcome to the club.” and proceeded to make a space for Jisung on the world’s lumpiest couch..

 

They bonded over good music and having the worst roommates in the world. Seungmin's roommates, Jisung learned, had a habit of using up all of the hot water to dilute the smell of their cigarette smoke and would never pick up after themselves which _really_ annoyed Seungmin, who made sure to always keep his things as neat as possible. Jisung shared that he’d only ever seen his roommates use the shower a total of 4 times between the three of them and Seungmin’s sympathetic grimace led Jisung to believe that Seungmin’s roommates were no better.

 

When Jisung figured out in true Parent Trap fashion that they both liked hawaiian pizza with hot sauce, they split an extra large pie from JYP’s and had spent the rest of the night watching the first three Shrek movies.

 

_“Has anyone ever told you that you kind of look like Donkey?”_

_“Has anyone ever told you that you kind of look like one of the three blind mice?”_

_“... Touche.”_

 

They had made it a routine, and sharing extra large hawaiian pizzas and watching animated movies with Seungmin proved successful in getting Jisung through his first month of University with his sanity intact.

 

On nights that they couldn’t pick a movie to watch,

_“Jisung, I’m not watching the Bee Movie for the third time.”_

_“Seungminie you coward this is the greatest cinematic masterpiece of our generation.”_

they passed the time by telling each other stories. Jisung would tell Seungmin about growing up outside of Korea and how he sometimes prefered Malaysian fruits, like the mangosteen, to anything that could be found in Korea. In return, Seungmin told Jisung about the four months he spent in the U.S. before coming to University and how he wishes they sold flamin’ hot cheetos in Korea.

 

_“Eh? Seungminie, is that why you dyed your hair red?”_

_Seungmin had responded by hitting Jisung in the face with his crumpled up chocolate bar wrapper._

 

Jisung tells Seungmin about his dream of being a music producer and about the look of disappointment that’s been perpetually stuck on his parents’ faces ever since they found out he wasn’t actually going to study biology-- a look that crosses his mind every now and then and never fails to ruin his day. Jisung remembers almost regretting sharing this detail of his life with Seungmin, remembers freaking out because _oh my god we aren’t even that close why did I say that he’s gonna think I’m absolutely crazy_ , remembers the blank look that Seungmin regards him with right before the other boy shares a small smile with him and says, “That’s another thing we have in common then, I guess.”

 

Seungmin tells Jisung that he’s always wanted to be a photographer, has kept idea of becoming a photojournalist in his heart ever since he was 7 and got his hands on his older sister’s old polaroid camera. Jisung learns that Seungmin comes from a long line of lawyers and judges and statesmen and that he had decided to major in law in order to appease his father, one of Korea’s most prominent prosecutors. Jisung also learns that Seungmin hasn’t told his parents that he’s been taking classes in creative writing and photojournalism just in case.

 

Under piles of blankets, Jisung had shown Seungmin some of the lyrics he’d written and in return Seungmin showed Jisung a fraction of the photographs he’d collected over the years. Seungmin makes Jisung promise to get him a signed copy of Jisung’s first mixtape or album and Jisung makes Seungmin promise to photograph Jisung for his first album cover. Seungmin had laughed and drawn up a makeshift contract on the back of a crumpled JYP’s receipt that they both signed,

 

Seungmin and Jisung are different, almost strikingly so. Seungmin is quiet around people he doesn’t know well while Jisung has never once been referred to as quiet in his life. Somehow, they make it work.

 

Their conversations slip between English and Korean, with sprinkles of Malaysian that Jisung tries to teach Seungmin and the occasional Japanese phrases that Seungmin tells Jisung he picked up on a family vacation to Tokyo. Seungmin, Jisung thinks, has a very particular way of speaking-- softly but with crisp and direct words that demand to be given attention. Seungmin’s voice is pleasant to hear, even when he’s cursing Jisung out for letting him die while they play League of Legends. He picks his words deliberately like the pre-law major he is and Jisung thinks to himself that on the .001% chance his undercover writing career doesn’t take off, Seungmin could make a living off of recording audio books or making an ASMR YouTube channel. Jisung tells him that he is doing a disservice to the rest of world by not singing more often after they watch the Lion King and Jisung is rendered speechless by Seungmin’s rendition of I Just Can’t Wait to be King. Jisung finds comfort in the nasally undertone that creeps into Seungmin’s voice when the other boy isn’t paying attention and in the grins that sneak past Seungmin’s exasperated sighs whenever Jisung pulls out his Doremon impersonations.

 

Yes, he and Seungmin are different, almost overwhelmingly so. Still, they understood each other and that had been enough for them to build a solid friendship in their first month at University.

 

After a month of watching movies together in the common room, Jisung had begun to see Seungmin less and less. Their movie nights had gone from three or four times a week to once a week and then dropped again to once every two weeks.

 

The semester had passed by in a flash, Jisung recalls, only moving faster and faster once he met Chan and Changbin after answering an ad on the school’s Facebook group for people interested in joining a hip hop crew. Although in the end only he and Changbin answered Chan’s ad, the  countless nights the three of them spent writing and rewriting lyrics, of mixing three different styles until they flowed into one another, of giving feedback to Chan’s newest tracks and laughing at Changbin’s terrible attempts at aegyo had finally given Jisung a feeling not of belonging, but of completion.

 

There were times Jisung would see Seungmin around campus, sometimes by sitting by himself focusing more on the books around him than his surroundings, sometimes laughing beside a blonde haired boy with freckles -- who he now knows as both Changbin’s boyfriend and Seungmin’s best friend, Lee Felix. Back then, Jisung thinks, smirk rising to his face, Changbin refused to admit his feelings for the kind Australian boy, the absolute fool. He and Seungmin had to practically push the two together.

 

Still, Jisung, amidst a sea of schoolwork, part time jobs, producing music and dealing with his parent’s overwhelming expectations, continues to find stability in Seungmin, their bi weekly movie nights and extra large hawiian pizzas drenched in hot sauce.

 

Seungmin had been the last person Jisung saw on the last day of the semester the previous year, on his way back to the dorm after having just met the potential love of his life. Jisung remembers thinking, as he watched Seungmin help his parents load boxes of his stuff into their car, that he was definitely going to invite him to his wedding with Cute-Boy-From-The-Bench.

 

It’s almost poetic that his search for a date with the Most Beautiful Boy on Earth (Sorry Hyunjin) Lee Minho has led Jisung back to the first friend he made at University.

 

Jisung considers himself an excellent judge of character, and as he approaches Seungmin while Hyunjin tries to follow without tripping over his feet, he considers that Seungmin is one of the best people he’s ever met and that Hwang Hyunjin has excellent taste in men.

 

…

 

“Jisung-ssi wait, please I don’t think I can be here when--” Hwang Hyunjin, no matter what other people on campus may believe about him, is the biggest mess Jisung has ever met in his life, and he’s met Seo Changbin so that’s saying something.

 

“Hyunjin oh my God, get a grip, everything’s gonna be fine.” Jisung whispers and shakes off Hyunjin’s hand from his shoulder as they reach Seungmin’s table. At this point, Jisung doesn’t know if he says that to comfort Hyunjin or to comfort himself more. To be honest, as soft as Seungmin looks -- adorable red hair, hopeful brown eyes, charming moles and one of the Top 10 Most Beautiful Smiles In the World -- Jisung has always had the suspicion that Seungmin is secretly Satan’s second cousin twice removed.

 

From where he’s standing, Jisung can tell that Seungmin is focused on taking down meticulous notes from a textbook with almost no margin space and size 9.5 font. The table is scattered with highlighters and post-it notes, a bag of uneaten cookies that Jisung plans to swipe later on, and Seungmin’s laptop that’s playing a Day6 song too softly for Jisung to decipher. Interrupting him while he’s busy could, in retrospect, end pretty badly. If Hyunjin’s nervous hand wringing and lip biting is any indication, Jisung would say their chances of making it out of this interaction alive is about 50/50.

 

Oh well. Jisung’s got nothing to lose and a whole date with Lee Minho to gain.

 

“Hey Seungminnie! Long time no see!” Jisung says, slamming his hands on Seungmin’s table for extra measure. Seeing Seungmin has always been refreshing and Jisung would be lying if he said he wasn’t glad his quest for Minho’s heart had led him to Seungmin.

 

Seungmin looks up from his work with a small smile on his face and Jisung can literally hear Hyunjin stop breathing. “Hi Jisung, I-- umm,” Seungmin says, smile faltering as he glances at Hyunjin who is still standing awkwardly behind him. It takes Jisung all of two seconds to consider the fact that Hyunjin has never actually spoken to Seungmin and that Jesus Christ he’s going to have to pull off some serious matchmaking in the future for the sake of Hyunjin’s life.

 

“Oh sorry, this is my friend Hwang Hyunjin. I don’t think you two have met yet.” Jisung says as he steps aside so that he’s no longer in between the two of them. And, Jisung notes, he is now within perfect range to steal one of Seungmin’s cookies.

 

Seungmin, being the charming and polite little shit that he is grins up at Hyunjin from his seat and says “Nice to meet you Hyunjin-ssi, I actually think we’ve had a couple of classes together before”, extending a friendly hand in Hyunjin’s direction.

 

While Jisung doesn’t exactly remember the details of his first official interactions with Minho, he hopes that he was at least more pulled together than Hyunjin is at this moment.

 

Still, it isn’t until Hyunjin pulls Seungmin’s outstretched hand into the most awkward one-sided bro handshake Jisung has ever _seen_ that he feels like he’s in actual danger of dying, cause of death: choking to death on a stolen cookie. The confused look that etches itself onto Seungmin’s face and the horrified realization that dawns on Hyunjin’s is enough to get Jisung actually vibrating with laughter.

 

Prediction for Jisung making it out alive: 70%

 

Prediction for Hyunjin making it out alive: -20%

 

The poor boy never even stood a chance,

 

“Uhm….” Seungmin begins, clearly at a loss for what just happened.

 

“Oh I um-- I’m sorry I--” Hyunjin interrupts before Seungmin can say anything else, “I actually have to get back to work, like right now. Sorry again I--um it won’t happen again. I MEAN just-- sorry. And bye. I’ll just-- yeah.”

 

With that, Hyunjin takes off to the other side of the street and Seungmin and Jisung watch in silence as he’s almost run over by an on oncoming car.

 

“What…. was all that about?” Seungmin says, softly enough that Jisung almost doesn’t catch it.

 

“Listen to me Seungminnie,” Jisung says as he moves to place his hands on top of Seungmin’s shoulders.

 

“What-- Jisung get your grimy little hands off of me.”

 

“First of all, rude. Second of all,” Jisung lowers his voice in order to emphasize the importance of what he’s about to say, “I need you to tutor Hyunjin in English so that I can go on a date with Minho hyung”.

 

The moment that Kim Seungmin begins to blink slowly at him, adorable face scrunched up in confusion, Jisung begins to think that today might not have been the perfect day to ask out Lee Minho after all.

 

…

 

“What.”

 

“What?”

 

“What do you mean _what_? That literally makes no sense at all, and considering you’re Han Jisung that’s saying something.” Seungmin says, shaking his head and picking his pen back up.

 

“Please Seungmin? Pretty please? For old time’s sakes come on!” Jisung says, whipping out his best puppy dog eyes. “Remember that time I helped you format your powerpoint when all of your group members decided ditched you?”

 

It had been rough. For an entire semester Seungmin’s five-person research group had left almost all of the work to Seungmin alone and claimed to never be available to work on their final project together. The night before his presentation, Seungmin had marched his way to Jisung’s room and asked for help in reformatting his research in such a way that would cut out all of his group mates and make it clear to everyone that Seungmin was the only one who knew what he was talking about. Seungmin walked out of that class with an A and took Jisung out to a free meal. Jisung had walked away from that experience thinking that if Seungmin had actually wanted to be a lawyer, he would burn everyone else to the ground. A bitch was ruthless.

 

Seungmin hums in consideration and shrugs Jisung’s hands off of his shoulders.

 

“You’re actually ridiculous Sungie,” Seungmin begins and Jisung feels his hopes and dreams reinflate as soon as he hears the nickname. “I didn’t even know you were friends with Hwang Hyunjin.”

 

“I’m not.”

 

“Jusung you literally introduced him to me as your friend.” Seungmin says, fixing Jisung with a blank stare.

 

“I mean, well, we’re not technically friends. More like, buddies by coincidence.” Yeah Jisung definitely went into this thinking it would be easier than it actually is.

 

“Okay look Jisung, I would really love to help you out and everything, but I really gotta finish these notes before tonight.” Seungmin says, gesturing to his abandoned notebook. “Besides, I’m still not even completely sure how me tutoring Hyunjin is gonna get you a date with Minho hyung.”

 

“Ok ok ok ok. So here’s the sitch. Basically, Minho hyung and I have like each other since last year and ---”

 

“Seriously? Last year?”

 

“Yes, Seungminnie. Minho hyung and I are soulmates, and it was literally love at first sight. ANYWAYS, before you interrupt me again, and we’ve had a serious case of mutual pinning going on recently--”

 

“Oh my god Jisung you’re reading too much fanfiction.”

 

“If I could please continue my story.”

 

“Of course. My bad. Please, continue, I’m all ears.”

 

“Thank you. So anyways, your boy Jisung decided to make a move today. This morning after class, I walked up to Minho and I was all like, _hey baby wanna go out on a date with me?_  And he was all like, _no._ Then I was like _aha playing hard to get I see_ , so I run after him and then he tells me that I’m the cutest and funniest person in the world and Seungmin oh my god, he tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear I shit you not that is the best feeling in the world.” Jisung takes a moment to regain his breath knowing full well that if he doesn’t stop himself every once in a while when he’s talking about Minho he could probably pass out.

 

“But then Minho said that he couldn’t go out with me originally because he’s always working the closing shift at JYP’s on Fridays and if I could get Hyunjin to switch shifts with him than he could go out with me. So there I am, hustling my little ass all the way to JYP’s with the sun beating down on me to ask Hyunjin if he would do me this solid, mind you I had to buy pizza for him to even talk to me and you know a hoe is broke, Then Hyunjin was like, if you get me an English tutor I’ll switch with Minho hyung, and now I’m here in front of you my sweet sweet Sungminnie asking for the biggest favor of my life.”

 

Seungmin sits there, nodding pensively and tapping his pen against the metal rim of the table. “So you and Minho hyung, huh? You two would look cute together” Seungmin affirms, sharing a radiant smile with Jisung.

 

“Aw, thanks that’s so sweet!”

 

“Also, if Hyunjin needs a tutor, I’m sure more than half of the campus would be willing to pay you good money to tutor him. And don’t you speak English too? Why can’t you do it?”

 

Seungmin is nothing if not a genius and Jisung is at a loss. Puppy dog eyes were clearly no longer an effective persuasive tactic, leaving Jisung to scramble for possible answers to Seungmin’s questions.

 

Jisung has never been a good liar, and even if he was, lying to Seungmin, who can smell bullshit from a mile away, would be out of the question. After considering multiple options, Jisung finds himself stuck between exposing Hyunjin for the love struck fool he is or calling the whole thing off, going home and crawling back into bed.

 

While Jisung doesn’t know Hyunjin enough to consider him a friend, literally having spoken to the other boy for the first time only an hour ago, he’s seen enough to already be endeared with the older boy. Jisung thinks about Hyunjin and Seungmin and Minho, thinks that if anyone had revealed his own crush on Minho how angry he would be, how he would never be able to forgive that person. But it’s still the perfect day and he’s already gotten this far, so Jisung rationalizes that if he doesn’t get his date with Lee Minho today then he might as well delete his Spring Wedding Pinterest board.

 

This definitely wasn’t going to be one of his finer moments and Jisung hopes that Hyunjin will be able to forgive him for what he’s about to do.

 

“Look, Seungminnie. Hyunjin specifically asked for you to be his tutor.” Jisung hopes to keep this as general as possible on the slight chance that Seungmin will stop asking questions and Jisung can spare Hyunjin’s secrets from being exposed.

“Ok but even if we’ve had the same classes we literally have never spoken before today, Why does he want me all of a sudden?”

 

_Jesus Christ._

 

“Alright, Seungmin. Don’t tell Hyunjin I’m telling you this,” Jisung really can’t believe he’s about to commit the dick move of the century “but the dude’s got a serious crush on you.”

 

Seungmin reels back with so much momentum that he almost falls out of his seat. There’s a blush working it’s way up his neck and coloring his face. Ohohoho, it seems as if even the university’s certified ball of sunshine is not immune to Hyunjin’s charms.

 

“J-jisung that’s ridiculous, there’s no way he likes me I’m not even--”

 

“I’m gonna stop you right there Seungmin. Just think about it, you and Hyunjin would be the prettiest couple on campus hands down! Also, I bet he would give you free pizza!”

 

“Jisung, stop I--”

 

“No I’m completely serious he really---”

 

“Look Jisung,” Seungmin sighs, “it’s fine. I’ll tutor him for you b--”

 

_Yes! Thank you God for having created Kim Seungmin!_

 

“But,” _damn it_ “I need you to do me a favor in return.”

 

“For you Seungmin, I would do anything.” And he means it, date with Minho on the line or not.

 

“Okay. So you’re friends with Bang Chan hyung right?”

 

“Channie hyung? Yeah of course!” Things were starting to look up.

 

“And he’s the president of the Student Activities Council right?”

 

“Mmmmhmmmmm~~” Bang Chan was also the President of the Student Government Association, RA for the Honors dormitory, manager at the school’s radio station, and was typically volunteering around town during the rest of his free time. One time, Jisung had seen “Without Bang Chan this entire campus and probably the whole neighborhood would burn to the ground” scrawled on the inside of a bathroom stall. To this day, it is one of the most relevant things Jisung has ever read. If Seungmin was going to have Jisung somehow exploit Chan’s connections, well then corruption thy name is Han Jisung.

 

“So he’s in charge of organizing the Spring Music Festival this year and I heard they got Day6 to perform this year. If you can get me a front row ticket, I’ll tutor Hyunjin for you.”

 

“Alright, you got it! I’ll get you _two_ tickets though, so if anything _does_ happen with Hyunjin… you know…..” Practicing his eyebrow wiggles has really come in handy, Jisung doesn’t regret a thing.

 

Seungmin scoffs at him and rolls his eyes, but Jisung can tell that his blush has returned at full force. If Jisung were a lesser man, he would say that Seungmin looks like he’s been hella sunburnt. Jisung also notes that this time around, Seungmin gives no protest to the idea of him and Hyunjin together.

 

“Well okay then. Imma go get you those tickets! I’ll see you later, good luck with your work!”

 

With that, Jisung skips to the other side of the street, on his way to find Chan. As he passess by JYP’s, he makes eye contact with Hyunjin and shoots him the cheesiest two-thumbs-up and overly-exaggerated wink combination that he can muster. If Hyunjin drops the pizza he’s holding, then so be it it’s not Jisung’s problem.  

 

Jisung pulls out his phone to text Chan all the while thinking that maybe once this is all over, Minho will be willing to help him fulfill Operation Seungjin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!! lmao i'm the worst, sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long! tbh i was having a lot of problems with the beginning of this chapter especially with tenses and such. idk and then for the longest time i felt like it wasn't good enough to post so i just kept procrastinating :/ but i got over that lil funk now, so i hope this never happens again XP I really wanna thank everyone who left a comment or left a kudos, yall were my motivation to get my butt back in gear so tyyyy. 
> 
> also, i made a twitter account to like post update notifications/ so that you know i didn't die/ post some sneak peaks/ because i thought it would be a nicer platform to interact will yall on. it's separate from my actual stan twitter account because i didn't want yall to think i was lookin for that clout or anything, and i'll follow yall back if you do decide to check it out. tbh this is my way of looking for more stay friends. so if yall are interested you can go check out @supsunminnie on twt but if not that's fine too <3
> 
> ty so much for reading and i hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> hellooo~~~ i hope you all enjoyed! this is my first fic but i was really excited for this concept! pls pls pls feel free to comment because i wanna talk about stray kids with yall!
> 
> i'll catch yall with that update real quick so pls keep an eye out


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